Ring of fire: Students help pros with instant analysis at teaching summit at Southern Hills
By Ken MacLeod
It’s one thing to show all your swing warts to your instructor in a private setting. It’s quite another to put them on display while ringed by 20 or so South Central Section PGA teaching professionals all wondering internally how they would possibly fix that.
That is what three of my friends did Monday as volunteers at the South Central PGA Fall Teaching and Coaching Summit at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa. The idea was to see what flaws could be diagnosed immediately in a first-glance lesson and what tips could be given to help them mend their ways.
Jim Young works with Brian Bennefeld to improve his fairway woods
“The whole goal is to simulate a real lesson experience, albeit in a compressed time frame,” said Jim Young, director of instruction at Gaillardia Golf Club in Oklahoma City. “This is to show when you have a brand new student who you’ve never met and in a fairly short period of time give them something they can use. In many cases folks won’t have time for a complete overhaul of their games, so try to find something they can take to heart and will hopefully help them improve.”
My golfing buddies, Brian Bennefeld, Kurt Kennedy and Charles Flinton, all good sports, all said they came away with new knowledge they can work on implementing. Bennefield worked with Young, Flinton with Southern Hills Director of Instruction Ryan Rody and Kennedy with Trent Rommann of Crestview CC in Wichita. Kennedy was also able to get some putting tips from E.J. Pfister, often named the top teaching pro in the state by Golf Digest and who works with clients at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, Oak Tree National and on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour. He may have just changed Kennedy’s life. He certainly changed his grip, stance, alignment and more.
The sessions benefit the pros as much or more than the students, Young said.
“It’s a really valuable experience listening for the pros, especially the young guys, I’m always learning something new,” Young said. “You get to listen to guys like E.J., Ryan, Trent, earlier we had (noted instructor) Stephen Metcalf here. It’s a way to showcase what some of our pros would do, how they approach things differently. Some of these guys have been teaching for longer than I have and I’ve taught a lot, yet they are here trying to learn and see what else they can offer.”
The lessons were just part of a day-long series of meetings and seminars for the instructors. For a young pro just starting out such as Brett Wilcoxen at South Lakes Golf Course in Jenks, it’s an invaluable experience.
“You learn so much from these guys and these sessions,” Wilcoxen said. “This has been tremendous for me.”